Mated To The Alpha Of The North
Chapter 39

Willow

As I sluggishly woke up, I took a moment to take in my surroundings before opening my eyes, noticing the intoxicating scent filling my nostrils with each deep breath I took in.

The aroma emanating from him, and the encompassing bedding, immediately clued me in to the fact that I was currently snuggled up against Jax’s strong body. I stretched out my arms and moved to roll over, but I quickly realized two things.

One, I had apparently already thrown my leg over him in my sleep at some point during the night, probably my wolf’s doing honestly, but that brought us to number two, I could feel his hard member react to the added pressure of my body rubbing against his as I moved, instantly bringing my wolf panting back to the forefront of my mind.

I sat up then, popping my weary eyes open wide and attempted to roll the other way off of him.

However, Jax’s huge hands quickly snaked out, fastening down onto my plump waist and gently holding me in place after adjusting me so that I sat astride his lap, with my core pressed directly against his rigid c**k.

I felt a thrill course through me at his dominant action, but that was nothing compared to the heat that radiated throughout my middle, shooting straight down, after his next movements, which were clearly driven purely by his wolf.

I was completely lost in the bliss my mate could provide, fully surrendering to whatever my wolf had in mind and trusting Jax completely to take care of me.

Though I had never done this before, I let him take the lead as I touched every inch of his toned body that I could reach, and our tongues tangled together turbulently.

I loved that I could sense the amount of effort he was putting in to be careful with me, to not push too fast, but I was ecstatic when his hands finally reached out to remove my tank top, feeling more than ready by that point.

I sat up, breaking our k**s and gasping for air, allowing him to remove the only garment that had heretofore kept the skin from our torsos from fully pressing together.

But how quickly I had forgotten about the scars of my past.

Jax made me forget everything that came before him. Nothing else mattered, but the thunderous anger that literally shook his massive frame as I relayed the constant torments and twisted expectations that came alongside Zeke’s protection during my time here in the South, had me instantly searching for safer avenues of topic.

I did not want him to shift here in the bed with me, so I quickly thought of something to douse his anger, settling upon the bizarre coincidence that I had actually already kind of met Zeke in the Northern Province before the war began, and before my father had thankfully swiftly ushered me away from the imposing alpha.

I had moved forward to wrap my arms around him from behind while he regained his composure, unsure what else to do to help him calm down.

Fortunately, my proximity seemed to help, so I settled in and allowed myself to recount that strange situation that had unknowingly been my introduction to the vile beast, feeling strangely at peace with all of the memories that I had once repressed and enjoying the mutual comfort I received in return from my mate’s nearness.

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The sun was shining brightly in the sky without even the hint of a drop of rain or impending storm cloud to darken my day.

My father was walking beside me, gently humming to himself as we strolled into town together, and I could not help the sense of peace that seemed to envelop the afternoon.

The walk into town using our human forms took about an hour, much longer than it would have taken if we had both shifted instead, but I had insisted that we go on two feet.

I had always been close to my father, and I wanted to spend as much time with him as I could, enjoying the fresh air and stunning weather. He had been busy recently with the increasing threat to our borders, and I had not spent much time with him, as a result.

Growing up, he had been the one to teach me basic survival skills, how to defend myself, and a few other tricks that he deemed necessary for me to know, his way of taking care of me long after he was gone, he had always said.

We did not talk as we walked, but I enjoyed his company, nonetheless.

When we finally arrived in town, my father and I exchanged a few words before parting ways for a while.

He had to meet with the town elders about the security threat, seeing as he was technically considered beta, or second in command, but he had made it clear that he no longer wanted the position with the change in leadership.

I did not understand why they had suddenly decided to change the whole leadership process anyway, or how they had been able to for that matter. Everything had been working out fine before when the alpha ran his pack within his own territory and protected its borders.

Instead, the alphas all answered to a group of elders that were positioned in each province to provide guidance now, but their guidance was total shit.

No doubt my father was here today only for the information they could provide.

I moved towards a bench that was positioned under a shady tree near the pond I had come across in my random wandering around town.

I continued to allow myself to consider the different scenarios that could have possibly led to where we are now, as I killed time waiting for my father to come replace me.

I understood that the elders had been around for a long time and that they probably had a lot of wisdom to share; however, the absolute amount of power they seemed to wield, at least over our territory, definitely worried me.

Yet, before I could ponder this direction of thought further, my wolf perked up, alerting me to another’s propinquity to my location.

I instantly shook my head, clearing my thoughts and looking around for the interloper.

I noticed a well-built young man, with tousled blonde hair, walking straight towards me with a huge smile on his full lips.

I briefly allowed my eyes to roam over his features, confused as to why he seemed to know exactly who I was when I did not have a clue as to who he was.

I was put even further on edge when he sauntered up and took the seat beside me on the bench without asking, sitting far too close for comfort.

Something about him just seemed off, and my wolf did not care for him at all.

He had started to say something, but I was already looking for an escape, thanking Luna when I spotted my father’s large frame not too far away.

My eyes connected with his in that moment, and he must have seen something in my face because his gait immediately sped up until he was standing before me, pulling my arm out of the man’s grimy grasp when he tried to keep me seated.

I did not look back at the man as my father shepherded me away, but he later told me on the walk home who the man was. That was also the day he told me I would have to leave my home.

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I was pulled out of my reverie by Jax’s steady movements, him having apparently decided the conversation had been heavy for too long and taking the initiative to alter the mood.

He smoothly sealed his lips over mine as his hands ignited a fire in my b***d with each inch of skin they caressed.

In all of the turmoil of emotions earlier, I had somehow managed to forget about my partial nudity, but there was no forgetting about it any longer when Jax pulled back from our ravenous k**s to trail k****s and occasional nips down my throat, his giant hands kneading their way up and tentatively reaching out to cup my overflowing breasts.

Even his hesitant touches drove me insane, causing me to elicit a little m**n at just the heat radiating from his massive palm as it began to massage the generous mound, while the other hand started tugging on the nipple of my right breast.

And, just like that, my wolf reemerged, enthusiastic to claim our mate, and all in for whatever Jax’s wolf had in mind.

Wolves were like that; they did not need the emotional connection when they recognized their fated mate. That part came later, after the mating bond was complete and our claims were secure.

Though I was getting there with Jax, I still was not sure whether I was ready to complete our mating yet. I trusted him with my life, and I suspected that the funny feeling that I sensed building in my chest, right where my heart was located, might have been love.

But it was still too soon.

Jax must have sensed my hesitation because he pulled back then to look deep into my eyes, saying, “Sweetheart, we will not go all the way yet if you are not ready, but my wolf and I need to taste you right now. Tell me if that is not what you want.”

My fears temporarily allayed, I had only one answer to Jax’s insistent plea, “Please.”